Book Reviews by Young Adults. at School Library Journal
FALL 2011 Student Blogs
- readin' stuff
- Ira's y.a. materials
- wadingthroughbooks
- Forever Young
- gettingbooked
- francinebee
- yafangirl
- Don't try to eat the books!
- Bookhouse Banter
- akyoungadultlibraryblog
- kicktheburningbag
- ESTOREIA
- Cassie's Adventures in Young Adult Literature
- BlogBlues2011
- Elderly Children's Literature
- 96eustonroad
- Sarah Reads YA
Books for Youth
Tim Wynne-Jones: Blink & Caution
almost everything from Wynne-Jones is good; but in this one, he is at the top of his form. (****)Ludovic Debeurme: Lucille
An anorexic girl meets a suicidal boy, they run away, have sex and (more) tragic events ensue. Winner of the René Goscinny Prize (for debut comic writers/artists) and Angoulême International Comics Festival Essential Award.Richard Scarsbrook: The Monkeyface Chronicles
White Pine 2010 Award Winner - a reader's choice awardAndrew Westoll: The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A True Story of Resilience and Recovery
Carolyn Keene: The Bungalow Mystery (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, Bk 3)
This is the first title that I've read, in its entirety, using an iPad. The book was courtesy of the Toronto Public Library. There was something lovely about the experience!David Alexander Robertson: Stone (7 Generations)
from the back of the comic: "Stone is Book 1 in the Series 7 Generations, which follows the story of one Aboriginal family from the early 19th century to the present day." Illustrated by Scott Henderson. (*****)Sarah N. Harvey: The Lit Report (Young Adult Novels)
this title just vaulted to the top of my list -- loved it (*****)Carrie Ryan: The Dark and Hollow Places (Forest of Hands and Teeth, Book 3)
Jill Murray: Rhythm and Blues
2010 YA novel that features the coming out story of a young dancer who is spotted by a talent scout when she is dancing with her breakdance crew. She is invited to be a part of an all-girl group -- as she struggles with new found fame and new friends, she negotiates her growing attraction to one of her band mates. CanadianScott Westerfeld: Leviathan
more steampunk and alternate history: The Clankers vs. The DarwinistsArthur Slade: The Hunchback Assignments
Steampunk mystery mashup for younger teens -- well worth the read and highly recommended (*****)John Green and David Levithan: Will Grayson, Will Grayson
one of the best "co-written" books I've read. The way the worlds of two Will Graysons comes together is completely satisfying. (*****)Catherine Gilbert Murdock: Dairy Queen
D.J. Schwenk is Responsible -- taking care of her family's dairy farm since her Dad injured himself, her football star older brothers left home, and her mother had to take two jobs to help support the family and farm. But DJ also knows a lot of football and when she ends up training Brian Nelson, the spoiled, arrogant, whiny town kid and star QB of the rival school's team, she begins to chafe a bit at always doing everything that is expected of her. This is an excellent sports story with a strong (mentally and physically) and funny girl holding the ball and running with it. (****)Meagan Brothers: Debbie Harry Sings in French
A story about what happens when Johnny realizes that he wants to be beautiful and cool like Debbie Harry. This must be a YA First: a straight, cross-dressing teen boy. (****)Neal Shusterman: Unwind
Imagine a world where parents can have their children "unwound" between the ages of 13-18 -- a process that harvests every part of their bodies for donor implants. And then imagine that your parents have signed the order and, of course, you have no say in the matter; in fact, society dictates that you go willingly into this new transitional state where you will live on in the bodies of others. (*****)Patrick Ness: The Ask and the Answer: Chaos Walking: Book Two
Patrick Ness: The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking: Book One
(*****)Melissa De La Cruz: Masquerade (Blue Bloods, Book 2)
the characterization is much more complex than I anticipated. I don't even mind the designer name dropping...L. J. Smith: The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle
again the triangle: good vampire brother, evil vampire brother, and the golden girl caught between themJ. Adams Oaks: Why I Fight (Richard Jackson Books (Atheneum Paperback))
The story of 13-year-old Wyatt Reaves begins just after he burns the family home to the ground, and he is spirited away by his Uncle Spade, "salesman-of-whatever-you-need". Wyatt is tall and strong and quickly learns how "to listen to his bones and skin and muscles" to earn money in the bare-fist fight racket. I haven't encountered a character like Wyatt before -- a combination of bravado, courage, sweetness and a "cool meanness" that he struggles to understand. Memorable writing and just an all-round good read. (****)Kenneth Oppel: Half Brother
(*****)John Green: Paper Towns
no word yet for how much I'm loving this read (*****)Holly Black: Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie
ugh -- hate this cover, but loved the book. (****)Suzanne Collins: Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games)
Drew Hayden Taylor: Motorcycles & Sweetgrass
Drew Haydon Taylor deserves more readers! I love his work. (*****)Carrie Ryan: The Dead-Tossed Waves (Forest of Hands and Teeth, Book 2)
(****)Matt Beam: Can You Spell Revolution?
For younger teens. By the Toronto-based author who wrote "Getting to First Base with Danalda Chase"Maggie Stiefvater: Shiver
this has got to be one of my favourite paranormal YA romances: romantic, sexy, original and well written (*****)Lesley Livingston: Darklight (Wondrous Strange)
the second in the Faerie series; by a Canadian authorLibba Bray: Going Bovine
I've been trying and trying to read this book and I just can't get into it. I resisted the urge to jump to the end. I've put it down and will come back to it...after all the awards and accolades, I feel like it must deserve it.Lesley Livingston: Wondrous Strange (Wondrous Strange (Quality))
I liked how Livingston used Shakespeare in this story, but otherwise, I'm lukewarm. Characterization is strong, but I found the elements of Faerie to be shallow compared to some of the other authors working in this genre, notably Holly Black. However, I'm still keen to read the next book in the series, Darklight!Jessica Grant: Come, Thou Tortoise
shortlisted for the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award 2010. I'm savouring this strange and wonderful novel. (****)Perry Moore: Hero
Loved this book and I don't have a long history as a reader of comics, especially of the "hero" variety. But Moore creates a credible world in which superheroes age, fall in and out of love, make mistakes and fail, and yet, powers of good prevail. Thom Creed is longing for love, trying to figure out how to come out, all while he learns to accept and use his own super powers. (*****)Dede Crane: Poster Boy
nominated for the 2010 CLA Young Adult Award When Gray Fallon's 12-year-old sister is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, he researches the environmental links to cancer and learns about the carcinogenic properties of everyday products and processes. He decides to opt-out of the cancer-producing lifestyle and moves into the woods to "live clean". This novel is about so much more though ... deftly rendered relationships with parents, friends and with his sister Maggie. Chuck Norris jokes too. (*****)Ishmael Beah: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
(****)Connie Willis: Blackout
for discerning readers (of all ages) of genre-blending/bending fictionJudy Blundell: What I Saw And How I Lied
National Book Award WinnerRebecca Stead: When You Reach Me
2010 Newbery WinnerFrancis Chalifour: After
15 yr-old Francis is on a field trip in New York when his beloved father commits suicide. Written by a Quebecois author, now living in Toronto, this is a beautifully written, sensitively rendered story of how Francis copes in the year after his father's death. (****)Robert Kirkman: The Walking Dead Vol. 4: The Heart's Desire
Mature content. I have to admit, my interest in the series is waning, but I'll stick it through to the end!Susan Beth Pfeffer: Life As We Knew It
I'm really enjoying this one. The diary format adds an intimacy and immediacy to the story that works well. It is a companion book to The Dead and the Gone, and tells the same story from a different perspective. I learned about the series from one of my students in LIS9364, Winter 2009. See her booktalk for the Dead and the Gone, posted here:http://yatoday.wordpress.com/2009/03/10/the-dead-and-the-gone-booktalk-card/ (****)David Small: Stitches: A Memoir
This book surprised me -- not what I was expecting at all -- a clear look at the cruelty, indignity and sheer sadness of being silenced by whatever measures. Most memorable for me was the depiction of a child's rage...Suzanne Collins: Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games)
As satisfying as The Hunger Games. I was worried about how the relationships between Katniss and Peeta and Gale would play out given some of the discussion in class, but Collins kept me guessing. Katniss is one of my new favourites -- she's fierce, stubborn, proud, smart. (*****)Jeff Lemire: The Complete Essex County
I can barely put this book down. It is like someone reached in, grabbed my heart, wrung out it and put it back inside out. I love *love* this one.Carrie Ryan: The Forest of Hands and Teeth
"We are our own memory-keepers and we have failed ourselves. It is like that game we played in school as children. Sitting in a circle, one student whispers a phrase into another student's ear and the phrase is passed around until the last student repeats what she hears, only to find out it is nothing like what it is supposed to be. That is our life now." (p. 29). A different kind of zombie tale. (****)Brian Vaughan: Y: The Last Man, Vol. 10: Whys and Wherefores
Jeff Lemire: The Nobody
The invisible man visits the small town Large Mouth where he catches the interest of the 16-year old female narrator. What's amazing about this book, is that it captures the odd ennui and intensity of small town life, where a stranger wholly wrapped in bandages becomes ordinary. (*****)Mariko Tamaki: Skim
the cover is different on this one; illustrated by Jillian Tamaki- Brian K. Vaughan: Y: The Last Man, Volume 1: Unmanned
Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games
not one false note. loved this book (*****)- Judy Blume: Forever (Richard Jackson Books )
Allan Stratton: Chanda's Wars
A sequel to Chanda's Secrets. Also, winner of the CLA Young Adult Novel Award for 2009.Caroline Pignat: Egghead
another nominee for the CLA Young Adult Award competitionRon Koertge: Strays
(****)Donna Milner: After River: A Novel
one of the 2009 CLA Young Adult Award NomineesDrew Hayden Taylor: The Night Wanderer: A Native Gothic Novel
This is a fabulous gothic story -- sharp prose, rich characterization, authentic representation of the drama and chaos of teenage life. The setting is an Anishinabe/Ojibway reserve in Central Ontario. I loved it. (*****)- Sharon E. McKay: War Brothers
A compelling. well-written story of Jacob and Oteka, along with Paul, Tony, Norman, who become war brothers in Kony's LRA in Uganda in 2002. (****) Charles de Lint: Little (Grrl) Lost
16-year-old "Don't Call me Tetty"/Elizabeth (a six-inch "Little" runaway) reveals herself to 14-year T.J. (a human who is homesick for her farm and friends and heartsick for her horse, Red) (****)Per Nilsson: Seventeen
an interesting idea: an estranged father recounts the story of his life from 17 years on to his 17-year old, who is admitted to the hospital after a seriously harmful drinking episode. differing accounts are offered by the boy's mother with intriguing counterpoint from his 17-year old girlfriend. What I liked best though is that the story is primarily set in Malmo and Lund.Deborah Ellis and Eric Walters: Bifocal
about racial tension, bigotry and tolerance in post 9/11 suburbiaGlen Huser: Skinnybones and the Wrinkle Queen
This one reminds me a bit of Joan Bauer's Rules of the Road, but with characters who are just a bit rougher around the edges. I'm a big fan of Glen Huser -- he's really masterful at developing quirky, memorable characters. (****)Bill Willingham: Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love
Bigby Wolf: "But we're in the information age, and this Tommy Sharp character is too well known. Everything's interconnected now. even if we kill him in a way no one suspects as murder, it's no guarantee his story won't come out."Bill Willingham: Fables Vol. 7: Arabian Nights (and Days)
I am really enjoying this series. My favourite fable is, of course, Frau Totenkinder :)Bill Willingham: Fables Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers
(****)Jason Lutes: Berlin: City of Stones: Book One (Part 1)
by the author/artist of "Jar of Fools". set in Berlin from September 1928 to May Day, 1929. originally serialized as "Berlin", in issues 1 through 8Meg Rosoff: What I Was: A Novel
Another amazing book by Rosoff, author of How I Live Now and Just In Case. She'll make you stop and wonder. (*****)Susan Juby: Getting the Girl: A Guide to Private Investigation, Surveillance, and Cookery
Sherman Mack is that smart, sweet guy that you should've gone to the prom with. Plus his mom is a burlesque dancer. And he likes to cook. (****)Kristyn Dunnion: Big Big Sky
Science fiction from the author of Mosh Pit and Missing Matthew. Still reading this one -- like reading a language I once knew! (****)Brian K. Vaughan: No Future For You (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 2)
includes issue #10, "Anywhere But Here" written by Joss Whedon (*****)Frank Portman: King Dork
couldn't finish this one.Jason Lutes: Jar of Fools
(*****)Andreas Steinhofel: The Center of the World
translated from German by Alisa Jaffa. This is compelling coming-of-age story featuring Phil, a 17-year-old, young gay man. Evocative setting, memorable, quirky characters, redemption. It reminds me a lot of some of John Irving's stories. A successful cross-over novel, "international" fiction. More later.Andi Watson: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vol. 4: Crash Test Demons
This is my first venture into the graphic novels of Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. Did not disappoint although the bright, red, static pools and wild arcs of blood make this a different kind of encounter with the undead than watching the show. Definitely going to look for more.Ron Koertge: Deadville
I've been a big fan of Ron Koertge, ever since I read "Arizona Kid." His stories make me think differently about young people, perhaps, because he renders his characters' flaws with a warmth and generosity that reminds me of all the teenagers I've known, and the teenager I once was. That underneath all that angst, toughness and attitude, there is a kid who is just trying to understand the world (in all of its horror and beauty) and his or her place in it. My favourite part of this book is Ryan's relationship with clothes -- from his threadbare band t-shirts, to the shiny new gym clothes, to the linen pants and fedora from the vintage shop.Stephenie Meyer: Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)
I'll reserve comments until I've read all 4.Martha Brooks: Mistik Lake (Melanie Kroupa Books)
Martha Brooks is, hands-down, my favourite YA author. Her books are smart, moving, interesting and always very, very well-written. Her teenagers are smart too-- smart and funny and flawed -- utterly recognizable. Their relationships with the adults in their lives are multidimensional, complex and believable. Her themes: love, loss, redemption. This is a book to savour.Ellen Wittlinger: Love & Lies: Marisol's Story
Almost, ten years later, Wittlinger's follow up novel to "Hard Love".Ellen Wittlinger: Hard Love
John, aka Gio, falls for Marisol, "Puerto Rican Cuban Yankee Cambridge, Massachusetts, rich spoiled lesbian private-school gifted-and-talented writer virgin looking for love".E.R. Frank: Life Is Funny
compelling, linked collection of vignettes about teenagers coming of age; reflecting life in the margins and a familiar litany of problems: domestic violence, sexual abuse, cutting, crack babies, teen pregnancy, drug-addicted and alcoholic parents, BUT life-affirming, youth-positive resolutionsRachel Cohn and David Levithan: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
Almost makes you think it would be ok to be a teenager again.Kelly Parra: Graffiti Girl
an "MTV" book. Angel Rodriguez copes with her inadequacies as an artist until she comes to realise that her whimsical style may have a place in graffiti art.Julie Anne Peters: Between Mom and Jo
By the author of "Keeping You a Secret" and "Luna" this book chronicles the marital problems of 14 year old Nick's two moms. (****)Susan Juby: Miss Smithers
cover art from U.S. edition; sequel to Alice, I Think. Does not disappoint -- Alice's diary is just as funny, poignant as the last time around. She explores a future in journalism by making a 'zine of her experiences as a candidate in the Miss Smithers pageant.Susan Juby: Alice, I Think
cover art is for the U.S. edition. laugh out loud funny, very well-written, covers all the good stuff: love and sex, family and friends, the horrors of school. highly recommended first novel by a Canadian writerE. R. Frank: America
While I found some of the profanity tiresome after while, this is a fantastic novel. (*****)Meg Rosoff: Just in Case
I liked this book even more than "How I Live Now" -- it is funny as much as it is a harrowing look at mental illness. Justin/David Case in now one of my favourite YA protagonists. (*****)Betsy Franco, editor: You Hear Me?: Poems and Writing by Teenage Boys
poems by teenage boys
FALL 2011 Student Blogs
- readin' stuff
- Ira's y.a. materials
- wadingthroughbooks
- Forever Young
- gettingbooked
- francinebee
- yafangirl
- Don't try to eat the books!
- Bookhouse Banter
- akyoungadultlibraryblog
- kicktheburningbag
- ESTOREIA
- Cassie's Adventures in Young Adult Literature
- BlogBlues2011
- Elderly Children's Literature
- 96eustonroad
- Sarah Reads YA
